This paper analyzed the colloquial characteristics of Chinese kinship terms through comparison and contrast with Korean. The results are as follows.
As a result of analyzing the types of colloquial kinship terms, this paper found that the frequency of use of the NN type was relatively low. And the rate of use of the monosyllabic type and the DN type is high as an alternative. In a situation where most Chinese learners perceive the NN type as a basic type in the process of acquiring kinship terms, this phenomenon requires an in-depth discussion. This paper defines it as an “NN-type avoidance phenomenon” and analyzes the cause.
First, in terms of semantic color, the NN type has the characteristics of infant language or formal style at the same time. In particular, due to the characteristics of the formal style, the NN type gives a sense of distance to use in everyday life. This results in adult speakers preferring monosyllabic or DN types when referring to their families in their daily lives.
Second, in the kinship terminology system, the difference from Korean is remarkable in terms of morphology. Unlike Korean, the DN type entails adjectives and possessive properties. This difference is due to the difference in the cognitive systems of the two languages. Chinese is based on a personalized viewpoint, and Korean is based on a shared viewpoint.
Third, the reason for the high rate of use of the DN type is the weakening of the Determiner and the Rhyme. The meaning of the Determiner does not work significantly in the actual speech. Meanwhile, Chinese has two syllables as its basic phonetic composition. However, avoidance of the use of the NN type causes a rhyming void in the kinship term system. As a result, the DN type was used as a substitute, and the reduction in the semantic constraint of weakening Determiner is considered to have become a mechanism for more universal use of the DN type.